Methyl and ethyl esters of fatty acids produced from edible fats and oils

These fatty acid esters are used as processing aids and intermediates in food manufacture.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Methyl and ethyl esters of fatty acids produced from edible fats and oils by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted, with conditions21 CFR 172.225retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

What it is made from

Made by reacting fatty acids from edible fats and oils with methanol or ethanol. The starting fat may be plant or animal.

  • Vegan status depends on the source
  • Vegetarian status depends on the source
  • May raise a halal question
  • May raise a kosher question

This is not an omission. What this additive is made from is not fixed — depending on the manufacturer it may be plant, animal or microbial in origin, nobody is required to say which, and the same product can change source between production runs. Ask the manufacturer if it matters to you; a label cannot answer it.

Every name it appears under

1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.

As it appears in regulation

  • Methyl and ethyl esters of fatty acids produced from edible fats and oils

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/methyl-and-ethyl-esters-of-fatty-acids-produced-from-edible-fats-and-oils.json